


Introducing the California Spider

by DestinyFreeReally



Series: The California Spider Assassination Squad + Prequels [3]
Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Abuse Mentions, F/M, Minor Violence, minor language warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:38:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9422795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestinyFreeReally/pseuds/DestinyFreeReally
Summary: another part of the infinity that is assassin LoVe- this is before the spider, but only just barely, Veronica's initiation into Aaron Echolls' life (spoiler alert: she still wants to kill him) + V meets Lilly Kane





	

    “Logan?” Veronica called from the doorway, entering their apartment. It’s become sort of cozy, a home in a way she hasn’t had in a long time, and their life’s almost mundane looking, murderous day jobs aside. “Any idea why there’s a pink stretch limo across the street?”   
  
    “Jealous?” A strawberry blonde strode toward Veronica, sway in her hips and lilt in her voice that Veronica matched to Logan’s tales of a Lilly Kane- an ex-something that crashed and burned in his life before her. “Don’t be,” Lilly smiled. “Me and you should be friends... _ V  _ is it? That’s all Logan will share. I’m just dropping by to remind Logan there are actually other people in the world besides your cute little twosome. His father’s been calling- you should get Lo to call him back. It’s… in both your best interests. If he has to track you down himself, he’s gonna get all  _ grumpy.” _ Exaggerated eye roll aside, Veronica wasn’t exactly keen on the meaning in Lilly’s tone.   
  
    “I’m not ignoring him, we’ve been busy, right, V?” Logan could’ve tried to keep the smirk from his mouth kissing Veronica hello, but then again, he really couldn’t. “So why don’t you play dutiful lapdog and run on home, huh, Lils?”   
  
    “No stern warning to  _ never come back here, ye hear?” _ Lilly shook her fist, laughing at the pair of them. There’s a different look to Logan’s face than she recognized, and if Veronica was the blame for that, the blonde really was dangerous.   
  
    Apology tucked into the corners of his mouth, Logan looked over the edges in Veronica’s face. That life of isolation she led before him made complete sense to him, sometimes. Strictly taking orders from his father ceased the day Veronica danced across Logan’s scope, and the relationship hadn’t improved. More than anything, Aaron had made it clear that he was interested in having the blonde he only knew as  _ V _ work for him, and more than anything Logan wanted anything but that. He hasn’t told her  _ much _ about his father- hasn’t shared more than the obvious. The scar on his back had come up naturally, and the way her eyes darkened at the  _ how _ of the story told him she probably wouldn’t be very interested in attending the family reunion. Logan has her, really has her, and he’s gotten too used to being considered in a plan to go back to being deployed like his father’s favorite lethal weapon. 

  
    “Actually, it isn’t necessary. Come back here anytime you like, we were _just_ thinking about taking a trip north next, right?” Veronica met his eyes, and his smile rewarded her, for _what_ she couldn’t be sure. For a second, she might’ve mourned it, the coziness of here. But it’s just a place, and people like them don’t really get homes that are places. He’s enough, more than she’d anticipated, anyway.  
  
    After Lilly left, they packed anything they really needed and headed south for the desert, and Logan spent the drive thinking about his father.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
    They heard tires coming down the gravel, but when Veronica reached for her gun, Logan caught her hand.   
  
    “He’s here.” Was all Logan said, and the frown set into her face.   
  
    Veronica didn’t know what to make of Aaron Echolls; she’s never made a habit of respecting men who shoot their sons in the back with buckshot as a  _ lesson,  _ but he is Logan’s family, and Veronica can’t really remember what that felt like. Logan’s mentioned Aaron’s plan, the pet project he’s eager to move on- for a  _ team _ of sorts, that would work under him in some type of global conspiratorial capacity. Supposedly, Veronica’s partnerships with Logan, Weevil Navarro, and Wallace Fennell, are the would-be inspirations of such an outfit. Veronica’s sure she doesn’t take orders well, and Logan's plain discomfort is all she needed to be completely disinterested in the idea.    
  
    “Why don’t you give us a couple hours to catch up, babe,” Logan’s stiff, she noticed that straight off- his back’s gone ramrod and there’s barely a hint of the usual humor in his face- like he’d been caught in the cookie jar.   
  
      It was silly, for her to be worried, she rationalized. He’s a trained killer, and even if his self preservation instincts were less than masterful, his self defense skills left nothing wanting. She gave him a curt nod, and a quick kiss, and left through the back door before Aaron made it up the front steps. There’s a bad feeling in her chest, a nagging, that she’s being dismissed, or maybe protected, and they’ve talked about this before, how their life is dangerous, but so was she.  _ And so is Logan, _ she swallowed the bad feeling like a big, bitter pill.   
  
  
    The broken glass on their porch didn’t ease her mind on the way back into the house. It’s well after midnight, and even though she’d been unsure about when he’d want her back, she desperately wished she’d returned sooner.    
  
    “Logan?!” She’d taken out targets with her heartbeat steady, but calling into their dark, trashed home, her pulse quickened uncharacteristically.    
  
    “Veronica? Don’t come back here, okay, I’m fine- I’m sorry about the mess-” He sat on the sink, sewing a cut on his arm with messy stitches.   
  
    “Logan…” She sighed heavily, not knowing what to expect, and forged her way into the bathroom, taking in the sight of him, battered and bloody. Closing her eyes a second, she reminded herself that she’s all too familiar with the  _ scent _ of blood, the  _ sight _ of it… Blood isn’t a new concept to her. Rationally, she knew it being his blood, being his bruises, mattered more to her for obvious reasons, but the urge to discount it as something ordinary was there, even if it didn’t work. “Let me do that.”   
  
    “Steady hands to the rescue,” He dropped a kiss to her hair, and smiled at her in a way he hoped was reassuring against the unreadable and unsettling look in her face. Blood in his smile, cuts on his lips, he’s not sure his smile does the trick of easing her mind.   
  
    “What- what does he  _ want _ ?” Needle in her hands, she can feel her fingers throbbing, with rage or fear, she can’t yet tell.   
  
    “Mostly? You.  _ Us?”  _ Logan grit his teeth at her stitches; pain he can handle though, he always could, but her eyes flicking to his face in the mirror was sort of unbearable.   
  
    There were so many questions she wanted to ask- hadn’t he fought back? She’s seen him fight, he was lethal, especially without a weapon, so unless he’d been pulling his punches, there was no other way this could’ve happened.    
  
    “For his… what does he even  _ call _ it like… a gang?” She tried not to roll her eyes, not right then.   
  
    Veronica tied off the stitches and hoped it wouldn’t scar too badly. Carrying on with what she would’ve done if  _ she _ was hurt, she checked his ribs for cracks, felt his jaw for breaks, and eventually satisfied, she balmed his cuts and bruises, embarrassingly relieved that the cut on his arm and the ugly way his face was bruising was apparently the worst of it.   
  
    Quieter than usual, Logan mostly spent the long moments of her extensive medical examination blinking at her gentle touches, or being stunned by the tremble in in her lips. He’s a killer, a trained murderer, and so is she, and the softness in her fingers shifting over his bones looking for breaks, sort of threw him.   
  
    “He does, actually. Or wanted to. Look, Veronica I’m not gonna drag you into-”   
  
    “I’ll do it.” She didn’t meet his eyes, choosing instead to keep her attention focused on taping up his right hand. “I have an errand I need to run beforehand, but I’ll do it. I can’t guarantee Wallace and Weevil will be interested, if that’s...even part of this…”   
  
    Gargling salt water stung, but hopefully he’d get the taste of his own blood out of his mouth eventually. Logan wanted to argue, that she didn’t know what she was dealing with, but she was still steeling herself everytime she braved a look at a face- and he knew his father wasn’t going to stop any of this until they agreed. He feels like running,  _ really  _ running, just taking her and  _ poof  _ disappearing if they have to; maybe she’d finally agree to marry him, maybe they’d have a couple kids and take a crack at bad parenthood themselves. Tucking the idea into the back of his mind, he kissed her, as a sort of apology and a sort of reassurance. That someday, maybe things wouldn’t be the way they were. Even if they had to kill everyone on the planet for a minute of peace.   
  
    Helping him into their bed, she was careful not to do too much  _ touching _ when she crawled in next to him.    
  
    “Actually, let me call Wallace, tell him I’m gonna help with his thing. I’ll get it wrapped up tomorrow if… if…” She wasn’t about to ask if he’d be okay on his own. He was Logan fucking Echolls, and probably the one person on the planet who  _ could  _ kill him was in bed with him, and they both knew it even if she didn’t dare remind him. “If that’s alright.”   
  
    Logan nodded, slow to let her go, after everything. He could only hope she understood; understood how much he wanted his life with her, even if they were hired guns for a father he couldn’t stand anymore. He hoped she understood, how much he wanted her there with him, while it was happening, how her smile had got him through it this time, and why she couldn’t be there.    
  
    “Hey, Wallace,” She stepped out onto the porch, kicking the broken glass into a pile. “I need a known location for Aaron Echolls. Yeah, I think it’s time I met the family.” Quick glance over her shoulder, Logan didn’t need to know about this. It wasn’t like she was going to kill him, she was just going to negotiate the terms of their employment, which included never benching her again. If Logan ever wanted to be alone with his father again he was going to have a nuclear level argument on his hands, and he never really won their arguments, not even the small ones.    
  
   Logan was already snoring when she eased herself back into the bed, setting her alarm for 5 am, for tomorrow’s mission. Blinking back stupid, stupid tears, Veronica couldn’t quite convince herself it was the smell of the bruise-balm making her eyes watery.    
  
  


* * *

  
  
    Ordinarily, a surprise blonde in his living room would’ve been a welcome sight, he almost said so to her, when his eyes caught the glint of her gun.  
  
 _“V_ I suppose?” Aaron drew a gun, too, if out of pride over anything else. No one was going to sit on his sofa with their gun taunting him unanswered. Especially not the girl who'd stolen her son to some desert fucking hidey-hole. More than disappointed they hadn't been able to meet, Aaron suspected Logan had sent  _V_ away for their meeting, but he isn't  _too_ surprised she sought him out after.  
  
    “Veronica.” Her lips pressed into a straight line at the sight of him, the way his face is smug with disbelief and attraction, she doesn’t have to ask if he’s Logan’s father. There’s a cut on his face, just a single slash, and she wondered if that was Logan’s doing, if that was what made Aaron back off. “I just wanted to personally tell you I want _in_ on your little gang of crusaders or squad of death or whatever vision you have for this.” Offering him a calculated smile, she tilted her head, eyeing him- wondering errantly if he’d ever thought about how he’d die.   
  
    “So you got my message then?” Aaron smiled, and eased into the couch across from her. “You know, it can be very dangerous to give me what I want, but it can be even more dangerous to withhold it. I hope you see that now.”  
  
    “Has anyone ever told you your communication skills need work? Next time you want to send me a message, try carrier pigeons first.” Smile forgotten, she swallowed, thinking about the scar on Logan’s back, about the cut on his arm, about the bruises under his eye, about the years of his life when things like this would’ve happened and would’ve gone unanswered. “Or maybe skywriting.” Veronica clicked her gun in aim, and wasn’t surprised when Aaron tensed a breath without pointing his at her. They both know she isn’t going to kill him, it’s a game in a way, a message of her own. “Because the next time you put your hands on him, I cut one off. And if you tell him about this little chat, I’ll take a pinky just for the fucking fun of it.”  
  
    Veronica lowered her gun, and wanted to punch the smile on his face.  
  
    “I’ll work for you, but it’s for him, and I can’t promise any of my contacts will want to be involved. That doesn’t mean you take it out on Logan, he’s finished pulling his punches for you. _That_ part of this arrangement is over. I can be very dangerous when I want to be, too, maybe you want to write yourself a note so you don’t forget it.” Keeping the icy edge to her voice, Veronica exhaled, and let her face crack a smile. “Pleasure meeting you, Aaron Echolls. Remember what I said about the carrier pigeons.” Veronica strode back to her car, a weight lifted from her shoulders. With any luck she could be back home in just a couple of hours; maybe Logan wouldn’t even be out of bed yet.


End file.
